I don’t know how to talk about these days. I only know God is present and moving and working and I am THRILLED … beyond THRILLED to watch. When I need to kick an attitude or some sadness, I just think about the ONE thing that trumps all other things in order of importance. I think about how everything struggles to pull that ONE thing away from its place of greatest importance.
Basically, I’m diving straight into this last phase with “HOLD NOTHING BACK” mentality. Jesus is too important and I love these kids too much. The results make me ask why I’ve been with any other mentality ever.
While I’m trying to figure these things out, here are some things to read:
This is an interesting series in Q about arts and entertainment and how culture has/is shaping what we make of it. Veneer of Arts and Entertainment
I think this is a timely and helpful article about loving our enemies after recent events. We are not just called to love our next door neighbors (although we have issues with that, too). We are called to straight up love our enemies. Whew!
I am becoming more and more averse to the Bible used as a moral rulebook and pastors using Jesus as a moral teacher. Check out this article from Desiring God Ministries and think on it with me.
I admit this article grabbed my attention with the words “bikini barista” in the title… but it’s totally worth a read. Wendy Alsup, who writes on this blog and also has several books, talks in the article about the struggle for independence being one of the worst consequences of our sin.
Okay, so I’ll leave you with that. I have things to read and “hold nothing back” messages to send! 🙂
As I thought over the past few days about the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection, I was tempted to stop several times because it’s just too much. It’s too much to think about how marvelous God must be to have a perfect, sovereign plan. It’s too much to figure out how many ways God set up history to reveal Christ’s glorious moment on the cross. It’s too much to understand the agony and suffering and war that must have waged in the very flesh of Christ during the final hours. It’s too much to grasp the encompassing all of Christ’s payment. It’s too much to believe that I can stand approved and righteous in front of a holy God because of Christ’s completed work and victory over the grave.
It’s too much.
I think so often we give up when it comes to understanding the Lord. We say things like, “Well, we’ll never understand anyway” or “Who are we to understand?” Sometimes it might be genuine awe of God’s greatness and sometimes it might just be laziness. What I’m realizing this week, through amazing conversations with friends and words in books and time spent with my Savior, is God’s intentionality in giving us a mind to understand. We cannot love a God we do not know. So, God gives us the ability, through our mind to become alive in our love for Him.
Regarding the command to love the Lord with all our mind, Piper says in his book Think, “loving him with all our mind means that our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express this heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things.”
When we get lazy or distracted or discouraged, our thinking fails to engage fully, express deeply, and (most importantly) treasure God supremely. The strange thing is, the so-called shortcut is only hurting ourselves. When we choose to NOT treasure God supremely, we cannot experience the joy of all joys that flows out from this treasure!
I’m reading and processing and reading and processing. Is anyone else reading (or has read) the book Think by Piper? What are your thoughts? Here are some other things that I’ve been browsing that you might find interesting:
I’m kind of obsessed with this website: ChristianityExplored and not just because the people talk in English accents. I love that they answer hard questions and share personal stories about the power of God in their lives. If you need a little inspiration, check it out!
This quote is still so relevant today even though it was written in 1908 by G.K. Chesterton. This is pretty powerful stuff.
“What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert–himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt – the Divine Reason. . . . The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . . The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table.”
G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy [Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1957], pp. 31-32
let LOVE fly like cRaZy
with all your HEART, SOUL, MIND, and STRENGTH
toward the Savior
Pollution has become this city’s worst allergy. The smoke and haze hovers over the mountains and seeps down in through our windows and makes my eyes itch. Today a bit of relief came in an afternoon rain. I’m still reveling in the lingering smell of it. Deep breaths are always best in the case of a good afternoon rain, so that’s what I’m doing tonight.
I’m revisiting Francis Schaeffer’s “True Spirituality” and, apart from my previous pencil marks, I could be reading it for the first time. The honesty is so fresh. I don’t mean fresh in a so-hip-and-cool-and-slightly-ambiguous way. I mean fresh like BAM! it hits you in the face. He doesn’t mess around because he truly adores the subject of his honest grappling. I wish I could say I don’t miss a beat of his rhythm, but I definitely have to read whole paragraphs over sometimes to get the full weight of it.
The funny thing is… the words Schaeffer penned in 1971 are desperately needed today in the conversation of theology and doxology and, well, the art of living. Before you even flip the page of the first chapter, you read,
“Our true guilt, that brazen heaven which stands between us and God, can be removed only upon the basis of the finished work of Christ plus nothing on our part. The Bible’s whole emphasis is that there must be no humanistic note added at any point in the accepting of the gospel. It is the infinite value of the finished work of Christ, the second person of the Trinity, upon the cross plus nothing that is the sole basis for the removal of our guilt.”
This whole plus nothing idea has always and forever will be a humbling thing for me. I have tried to make Jesus need something from me. I want to bring something before Him and hear, “Oh, yes! That is what the cross was missing! Thank you so much!” But, it’s not possible. Strange that hearing those words would mean my God is small and helpless and needy.
I wrote about a lesson in dependence while I lived in Austin… and then several months later when I realized dependence isn’t a lesson and God truly desired that I would come to Him empty handed. Salvation is Christ plus nothing. If I present anything else, I present a bold-faced lie.
In my journey of learning to believe Christ as truly sufficient, I discovered a beautiful freedom. When I say freedom, it’s hard to describe just how giddy it makes me feel.
Have you ever felt the random rush to dance? Or uncontrollable laughter bubbling up from your gut? Or maybe you have stretched out your arms as far as they could possibly go and lifted your face toward heaven to take in some crazy rays.
I desperately hope you have a picture of the kinds of things freedom brings to mind. When I truly let the reality of Christ plus nothing sink in, the excitement of freedom all but bursts out of me!
Today, with Songs of Lent as a musical backdrop, I studied the words of Isaiah 53. I wrote out every phrase and let it sink in like the rain. This description of Christ tugs at all the foolish places I hide – the places I believe my salvation is plus something. Then I listened to this message from Mbewe and turned my focus to verse 11, “out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” After enduring the suffering of the cross, even anguishing in His sinless soul, Christ saw and was satisfied in what He accomplished. The glorious work of the cross is truly finished and I am numbered among the many whose iniquities he bore.
It’s starting to rain again.
Let LOVE fly like cRaZy, folks,
but remember the LOVE of Christ needs no addition of our own making.
I’m just reposting this quote because it is such a beautiful reflection of the cross as we prepare for Semana Santa. I love how he says, “all of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary.” If I’m finding myself in an inflated place, maybe I should see about a visit to Calvary once again.
So good to remember the words of the saints who have gone before!
“Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.” John R. W. Stott The Message of Galatians (London, 1968), page 179.
In the mess of emotions and energy and exhaustion of the past week, I’m breaking mental ground for a new life motto. Up until this point, I’ve stuck with “Love God, Love Others.” I know, I know – it’s nothing mind-blowing. It’s as old as Deuteronomy 6 and Matthew 22:36-40.
It seems like we shouldn’t really have to improve on what God explained so clearly. This bold declaration to love God with all my heart and love others out of that love will always breathe life into whatever else God is teaching me. Lately, it seems the lessons in my conversations and experiences have me searching for words to explain how my theology informs my philosophy of living.
So, this past week, I started taking my joy pulse. I was intentionally on the lookout for those times when there was “fullness of joy” in my life, because those moments found me in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). So many things triggered this crazy feeling of joy bubbling over the flimsy walls of my heart – laughter on the bus ride, children on top of high school students’ shoulders, serious late-night talks, watching a drama acted out to the glory of God, hearing stories of evangelism teams, playing in the ocean in the rain, singing/rapping, sunshine and clouds – all these things amounted to an emotion I can’t explain.
One of the beautiful moments where God arrived in splendor happened the last night before we came back. We were all sharing and reflecting about what made an impact on us, where we felt we made an impact, and what God is leading us to do as a result of our experiences. One of the students mentioned how wonderful it felt to just share. She mentioned that normally all her friends would be very possessive of their “things,” but this week she experienced how cool it was to share.
Something clicked while she was talking… something that I am learning as I live here in this beautiful country: “a la orden.” I can remember so many times when I’ve made a comment to one of my students about her outfit and heard this response, which means, “at your service.” It’s like saying, “Oh? You like it? Well you can wear it whenever you want!”
I love this.
I realized my joy pulse goes crazy whenever I think of ways I can live a la orden… and I truly believe this is how we live out Philippians 2:1-4. The idea is WAY bigger than offering our clothes. When someone compliments us about our gifts of leadership, encouragement, organization, creativity, laughter, work ethic, prayer, or ministry, our response can and should be, “a la orden.”
Can you imagine what would happen if we made our best gifts available and “at your service”?
Person 1: Wow, you really have an amazing way with children!
Person 2: Thanks! God is so good! And, well, I’m at your service whenever you need.
Person 1: (confused) Oh, cool… what do you mean by that?
Person 2: Well, I mean that what good is a “way with children” if I don’t use it? So, please let me know the next time you have a need involving kids!
Person 1: Whoa. That’s kind of crazy. So, you mean you’d be available to fill the open spot at the after-school program I work with on Tuesdays?
Person 2: That’s exactly what I mean. Let’s talk details.
Obviously, this scenario can’t play out perfectly every time because our days will fill up and we will find it difficult to make ourselves “a la orden” all of the time. But, the point I’m making is a mental shift. No longer am I guarding my time and treasure for myself. God blessed me and saved me for His purposes, not mine. When people point out beautiful things in me, it is only a reflection of my God who formed me in my mother’s womb. My gifts aren’t meant to bring me glory, but they will bring me joy if I make them available to others through my service.
Very few of us wear clothes that we’ve designed ourselves and our spiritual gifts are the same way. We wear them and get compliments on them, but we did not design them. When we receive compliments they should be re-directed to the Designer and He promises the MOST joy will happen when we aren’t promoting ourselves with our gifts, but instead looking for ways to elevate others.
I have SO MANY STORIES and ways God has blessed this philosophy. The joy seriously multiplies! I love looking into beautiful brown eyes and saying, “Whenever. Wherever. You name the place. I know God has gifted me for such a time as this and such a person as you.”
That’s what makes my joy pulse go crazy! And that’s how I know making ourselves available by putting others first is the biggest blessing we could receive.
Wow. These days are cRaZy! Yesterday we spent time at the orphanage and the public school in Valle and then we got ready for the outreach event at night. My heart jumped like crazy seeing kids streaming into the camp from the dusty, dirt road to see what all the hype was about. We played soccer (of course), relays, and then we had a presentation.
I will expand more when I am not sitting on concrete steps and struggling to get a signal. But, I just want you to know a bit of the beauty I felt watching the students push themselves to the limit. All morning we were at the orphanage … it was piggy back ride after volleyball game after more piggy back after laugh attacks. Constant motion and then the night was constant emotion. The students performed two skits like professionals and several shared their testimony with a crowd of 250-300. The most beautiful thing of all (more beautiful than my horrible miscalculations – don’t ever ask me to order you pizza unless you want more than you need!), was truly praying through the belief that God is at the center. We offer up our humble attempts, but it is God who makes any attempt successful. I saw these students give their hearts on that stage (even though several were sick) … because they knew giving their all is the only way God would want them to perform.
Before the final assembly, I overhead a student say, “Oh my gosh! I have to translate for you and now we’re singing and I have to get the props and … how am I going to do this!?!?!” then a breath, “No, it’s okay. I trust God will work through me if He thinks I can handle this.”
THESE are the moments!
OKay – before I get carried away about last night … I have to move on to today to other GREAT, BIG moments. We spent some time de-briefing before we scattered for the night and I got to hear some of the aMAZING testimonies of our team who went out in a little village called San Francisco. None of my students had been there before and only one knew it existed, tucked away in the mountains. The students went door to door and shared the gospel and the effect is still gripping my heart. One group, after presenting the gospel, was told, “I’m rejecting the best gospel presentation I’ve ever heard in my life.” Which was a strange, sure encouragement to them that they were on the right track. They assured the stranger that he didn’t have to reject it, of course, but he could choose to believe.
Well, enough of my stories… here is a word from Lesly (who blesses me at least 10 times a day with her warmth, her smile, and her attitude).
This morning, we did three carnivals at elementary schools in El Sauce and Cerro Grande. The kids came from all over and were super excited to see us. Later, we visited the town of Villa San Fransisco to do a carnival and evangelize through the streets. I had Marielle and Stanley in my group – and they are probably the coolest people to be with.
We met an old woman who shared how sick she was. Stanley got up right there as she was telling us and prayed for her, and I was trembling because I was so moved by what God was doing. His prayer was so beautiful and I started to realize how amazing it is to just reach out and love in this way.
While walking around Villa San Fransisco, all of the people were extremely welcoming and hospitable. I feel so blessed that I was able to meet all of them. We also got the opportunity to share with people our age, Lester and Misiael. They were very open to Marielle’s and Stanely’s testimonies and really wanted to listen to what we had to say.
At the very end, there was this man called Carlos who completely made fun of us while we were praying for him. Even though we were a little embarrassed for ourselves we have the confidence that we planted the seed in him. God really blessed us with the opportunity to meet up with people who needed our presence and His presence.
Wow. The stories keep coming! Please keep praying that we
Wow. Yesterday I thought it almost impossible to gather the team before leaving (4 were coming from San Pedro and one was en route to the hospital after a soccer injury), but somehow we were ended up around a campfire to talk about our hopes and fears for the week. We were all in agreement that God has some pretty amazing plans set out for this time.
I won’t blabber much, because Carlos wrote up a little reflection to share… but I do want to mention that I was the brave one to hunt out a mouse this morning in our dorm, which sprinted up my leg. We still haven’t found it, so I might have a sleeping buddy. Today, we gave a cultural seminar and the PCA staff/students spoke in chapel. Then we went to admire the city from a lookout point on the way down the mountain before we headed to the orphanage for the afternoon. Okay – enough details. Here’s Carlos and his reflection:
God calls his servants to aid others in any way we can. There are numerous ways we can do this. For example, we can donate to good causes, give money to our church, go to orphanages, give food to the poor, go on mission trips, and many more. This week our school, Academia Los Pinares, has joined Prestonwood Christian Academy, for a second year in a row, to do a mission trip. A mission trip is defined as a trip with specific plans to benefit specific people or groups, outiside your culture.
So, we, the ALP students, are on an outreach project or service project in our country, Honduras, while the students and staff from PCA are on a mission trip; they are serving outside American territory. Anyway, whether you participate in a mission trip or outreach project, the goal is to spread God’s Holy Word, the gospel, to others through acts of service. Also, another goal is to help the individuals, spreading the gospel, to draw closer to God by sacrificing their commodity, work, money, etc. and just focusing on what God has planned for them. For example, sacrificing luxuries (hot water, good food, cozy bed, etc.) allows you to see that earthly things are not essential to your spiritual life. Sometimes, it is easier to see God’s work in your life and how He is working in it. Also, it lets you realize that all the things you have aren’t your,s but are from the Lord. The things you have, are lent to you by the Lord, who can take them away whenever He wants.
During the week of the mission trip, both ALP and PCA students and staff have decided to give up many things, such as luxury, to be able to come to Valle de Angeles and Tela to preach about God’s free and eternal gift of salvation. Finally, by sacrificing ourselves to serve others, we show love. In John 15:13, it says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
So, that’s the first of many students to share. I hope you are encouraged tonight! Tomorrow is a big day, so keep us in your prayers.
May the Lord strengthen us in His WORD and guide us in His light!!
This is a good word… because it’s literally about the Word. The Word made flesh is the only perfect peace we will find. I really appreciate what this pastor, David Schock, has to say about unity in the Church.
Our theme verse for our week of focused mission service comes from Isaiah 6:8,
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Our preparation has a beautiful, frantic fragrance this week. We are running around arranging, buying, planning, and chasing details like one chases a beach ball across a lake on a windy day. One thing is for sure: God is completely sovereign. Even in the foibles, I can claim this as true. I thought some of you might be interested in reading through the short devotionals for each day this week. I’ve included the passage (taken from The Message Bible) and the few questions I’ve asked the kids to ponder. Pray with us as God humbles our hearts and uses broken vessels to reveal His great Light of salvation!
Throughout the week, students will be updating on my blog to give direction to your prayers/praises and most importantly to give God the glory for the overflow of love. So stay tuned this week!
MUSINGS IN THE MIDST 